Informalities
by lynx4
Summary: A little Shinji/Rei story of mine... The heart and it's trivial follies displayed before you in a manner of words. Enjoy!!!! (Now Completed!!!!!!!!!)
1. Default Chapter

Informalities  
  
By: lynx  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter1: A Meadow, A Boy, And A Girl  
  
  
  
"Rei." Shinji said, while he sat amongst the grass in a small meadow near the outskirts of the city that he, along with Rei and Asuka protected.  
  
"Rei." He said once more, breathing in the night air.  
  
It felt like a cold liquid rushed down his body. He felt happy with this feeling, it was like he was the ground on which a cold river runs on. Shinji then laid his back on the grass. Breathing in the scent of the night air along with the whiff of the grass, this brought a small amount of joy to Shinji. He hadn't done this in a while, for the past few weeks of his life the only thing he saw was doctor Akagi in the control room from an entry plug filled with LCL. He finally had the chance to take a break from all that testing.  
  
"To hell with those tests." Shinji said, running his fingers through the grass around him, feeling the multitude of small, harmless blades make contact with the tips of his fingers while he fixated his sight towards the night sky. The serenity of the environment intoxicated him with it's quietness and beauty, a few moments later, he fell asleep.  
  
---A few hours later---  
  
A familiar figure appeared out of the morning mist and was walking towards the sleeping Shinji, taking small paces in his direction. When the figure was at least only a few centimeters apart from Shinji, the figure spoke and held his arm.  
  
"Pilot Ikari? Pilot Ikari wake up now." A calming voice whispered to the sleeping boy. Shinji felt a warm feeling swell up inside him.  
  
"Wake up now, Pilot Ikari." The voice repeated. Shinji then felt that someone was shaking his body.  
  
"Unnnn... Wha? Whe? Whoooo?" Shinji stupidly responded, trying to fight the urge to get up to the call.  
  
But then, he was forced to answer the wakeup-call given to him, as he got up, his vision started to clarify as well. Shinji saw a blur of what seemed to be blue orb with two small red orbs on it while he focused his sight at the figure who was in front of him. After a while he found out that the girl he was dreaming about was shaking him to wake up, because he had been asleep all night on the meadow. It was Rei, in her school uniform, clasping his arm and shaking it gently.  
  
"Major Katsuragi started to worry about you, but she was afraid to search for you at this time of night. So she requested me to search for you instead of her." Rei said.  
  
"You did? Thanks." Shinji said, scratching his eye, then he took a look at the surroundings, it was the same old meadow, but it seemed rather different.. Shinji didn't need to ponder on this thought, according to him, he already knew the cause of this phenomenon. To him, the place became more beautiful because of Rei's presence. Then he turned his glance to Rei. Rei was, as usual, staring at something, more particularly, she was staring at the moon, as if in a trance. Shinji looked at the girl who was beside him, he stared at her blue hair and kept his eyes there for a few seconds, then shifted his sight to the one thing about her that always swept him away. Her eyes, those two red orbs that seem to always stare at nothingness. Then Rei turned her head towards Shinji who was still looking at her.  
  
"No need to express gratitude." Rei suddenly said, then returning her attention to the night sky. Shinji wasn't surprised at this kind of comment coming from Rei, he then started to think of something nice to say as he placed both his hands behind his neck and fell back to the ground. Rei hugged her knees as she kept her steady sight on the stars that kept them company that night.  
  
"Rei, why do you keep staring at the surroundings, staying in one place the whole time? What draws you to it?" Shinji asked.  
  
"Why do you inquire?" Rei backfired, who was now staring at Shinji. This made Shinji blush a little.  
  
"I dunno, just thought of asking." Shinji answered. Then, he felt the urge to say it. Say what he head been planning to say to her the whole day.  
  
"No, it's not that, I asked because...it makes you look..."  
  
Rei still looked like she was paying no attention to what Shijni was saying, keeping her eyes on the sky.  
  
NOW!!!!!!!!  
  
  
  
"Beautiful."  
  
A sudden hot feeling passed through Rei's chest, she felt no pain though. Rei felt a warm feeling swell up inside of her as well, she felt an unexplainable feeling within her.  
  
"What, was that Pilot Ikari?" Rei asked, blushing lightly. She felt blood rush up to her cheeks the moment Shinji told her that. She had absolutely no idea on how to explain the phenomenon that was happening to her.  
  
"I said, staring at nothing makes you look...beautiful." Shinji answered.  
  
"It does?" Rei said, now trying to explain to herself the warm feeling inside of her.  
  
Then, all of a sudden, Shinji got up and got a hold of Rei's hand.  
  
Rei quickly turned her sight to her hand.  
  
"Let's go back." Shinji said. Rei was a bit shocked at this, but she kept silent while looking at the other hand that was taking hold of hers. Rei was surprised to feel that Shinji's hand was somewhat warm, the warm feeling inside her swelled up even more.  
  
"Running in the cold morning is good exercise, let's try it out, it's still three thirty in the morning." Shinji said, gesturing Rei to start running. Rei said nothing, she was wrestling with her thoughts, but she started running anyway. The two of them started running their way out of the meadow, feeling the cold morning air rush through their faces. Rei was staring at Shinji's hand that was holding hers as they ran through the city streets. Shinji still kept a firm hold on Rei's very smooth and cold hand. Rei was still struggling with her thoughts as they both ran in their school uniforms.  
  
What is this feeling? Rei mentally asked herself, while feeling the warm grip of Shinji's hand. The two of them were silent as they ran to Misato's apartment where a worried Misato and an annoyed Asuka were waiting for them. And still, Rei was trying to fathom that warm feeling that was continually swelling up inside her.  
  
---Apartment 4:00 A.M.---  
  
Misato was walking back and forth in front of the door in her apartment room, waiting for Shinji to come home, the way a spider waited for a fly to fall in it's web, Asuka was in her room, sleeping. Misato kept that movement, as if she was spinning her web for about fifteen minutes when the door opened.  
  
"WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU!! I HAVE BEEN DAMNED WORRIED ABOUT YOU!!" Misato yelled, as the fly had fallen victim to her, lifting the figure that stood in the doorway.  
  
"At a meadow, near the outskirts, I fell asleep there, I swear that's all that happened!" Shinji said as he covered his face with the back of his palms.  
  
"I found pilot Ikari lying on the grass on a small meadow near the outskirts." Rei reported.  
  
"See?" Shinji said, smiling a wry smile at Misato.  
  
"Feh." Misato said, who was then walking towards the kitchen to get herself a Yebisu.  
  
"Since we're awake and happy, why don't we have breakfast together? I'm cooking. Would you like to join us, Rei?" Shinji asked Rei, smiling at her.  
  
"I am in fact hungry, I guess I will, if it is permissible to Major Katsuragi." Rei said.  
  
"Fine." Misato said as she sunk into the couch to drink.  
  
---Kitchen---  
  
  
  
"Good thing it's a Saturday today." Shinji said, cracking open some eggs.  
  
"Why is that?" Rei asked Shinji, as she stared at the way he handled the eggs.  
  
"No school today, I can go back to the meadow again." Shinji answered, looking at the eggs in the frying pan.  
  
"Oh, I see." Rei said, remembering the things Shinji told her when they were at the meadow. Then they both stood there in the kitchen helping each other cook breakfast. The two were then silent for a few seconds when Rei decided to break the ice.  
  
"Did you really mean what you have said to me a while ago, pilot Ikari?" Rei asked, totally blowing Shinji off his guard. Rei had done this rarely, talking when no one started a conversation with her all of a sudden.  
  
"Yes. Why? You don't believe me?" Shinji asked back. Now scratching his head, as he sprinkled some table salt on the frying egg.  
  
"No, it is not that." Rei answered.  
  
"Then, what is it?" Shinji asked.  
  
"It is just that..."  
  
"Just what?"  
  
"I felt a hot sensation within me."  
  
"A what?"  
  
"I felt warm inside, despite of the cold morning atmosphere."  
  
"You did?"  
  
"Yes. And I was hoping you would be able to provide me assistance on giving meaning to this phenomenon."  
  
"Uhhhhh..."  
  
"Maybe you should go ask Misato, she happens to know a lot, and she happens to be in front of the tube."  
  
"The tube?"  
  
"Uhhhhhhh... I mean the TV?"  
  
"Oh. I see. Thank you." Rei finished as she left the kitchen and headed toward the living room. A few minutes after Rei left, Shinji sighed and scratched his head. He was now feeling a dozen butterflies in his stomach.  
  
"Shit." He said, watching the eggs in the pan.  
  
  
  
---------End of Chapter 1--------- 


	2. A girl, An Older Girl And An Annoying Gi...

Before I start this chapter, I would like to apologize for the ever-so lame title. But this is just my first fic, please read on...  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter2: A Girl, An older Girl and An annoying Girl  
  
  
  
"Shinji-baka!" Asuka yelled through the comm and prompted the EVA unit 02 to take out its guns.  
  
"ARRRGH!" Shinji yelled in pain as the angel he was fighting started to tighten the grip of one of its long and hideous tentacles on the head of the EVA unit 01.  
  
"Eat this!!!!!" Asuka screamed as she went all-out trigger-happy on the octopus--like angel that was strangling EVA 01. The angel then let go of its grip and fell to the ground on which they were fighting upon. Shinji saw this as his chance to finish off the enemy.  
  
"DAMN YOU!!!!" Shinji said, as he pulled those two handles in his hand. Then the unit 01 responded by carelessly thrusting it's hand into the angel's head, the Eva's hand pushed itself deeper and deeper, until the hand pierced its way out of the other side of the head. Shinji then pulled again, making the Eva pull out its hand from the head. A few seconds later, the huge octopus-shaped angel gave in to the pain, and burst in front of the machine that had slayed it.  
  
"Bakero." Asuka said, as she saw all the gore.  
  
"You couldn't have killed it if I haven't saved you." Asuka added, trying to boost her pride.  
  
"You're right, I...owe you..." Shinji said in defeat.  
  
"You always will... oooohhhhhohohohohohoho!!" Asuka laughed in pride.  
  
"Can I..." Shinji said whom Asuka then cut off again.  
  
"What now?" She said, not allowing the boy to finish.  
  
"Can I..."  
  
"What?"  
  
"...ask you out?" Shinji finished, a small blush on his face was visible on the monitor. Just then, Asuka felt what Rei and what Shinji had been feeling for a while.  
  
"To make up for all the foul-ups?" Shinji added.  
  
"Ahhhh...eh." Asuka murmured in shock, as she held those two handles more firmly. She was at a loss of words. For the first time, because of Shinji. He was never able to shut her up before. Asuka was now trying to do two things at the same time. Looking for something to say, and trying to explain to herself the sensation that aroused within her. She was so confused that time she found herself saying strange things to herself.  
  
(What is this??????) She kept repeating to herself, while looking for something to say to Shinji. Shinji's face was still reddening. She was so confused that time, she then started to place both her hands on the part of her body that had the warmest feeling, her chest. It then grew warmer and warmer, she tried to stop it, but every effort she tried was useless. It kept like this when all of a suddenly, Shinji spoke.  
  
"You don't have to say yes, you know?"  
  
"In fact, just forget I said anything, okay?" Shinji finished, as his image on Asuka's screen started to fade.  
  
(What, What now???!!!!!!! SAY SOMETHING BAKA!!!!!) Asuka's brain raged, as the warm feeling grew hotter and hotter.  
  
"WAIT...!"  
  
"BAKAAAA!!!!!" Asuka screamed. Shinji heard this, and asked her,  
  
"What?" Shinji asked.  
  
(WHAT????? SAY SOMETHING, DAMMIT!!!!!) Asuka's brain repeated ferociously to her.  
  
"Uhhhhh......."  
  
"What? Say something!" Shinji said, making Asuka confused tenfold.  
  
"Uhhhhh......."  
  
(SAY IT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) Asuka's brain was starting to ache, her heart started to ache as well, her whole body was inflicted with the completely warm feeling. She was so in a fix. When, all of a sudden, the place suddenly turned pitch-black, Asuka found herself in her plug suit, on the floor (although you couldn't see any). Looking at the back of a familiar figure. The figure then started to walk away from her, Asuka saw this, she felt, somewhat sad, she couldn't tell why, for all she knew, she needed him. She screamed his name, but the figure in front of her paid no attention. Her heart ached even more, it was unbearable now. She screamed and screamed his name, but the same still happened. It all came to the point where she could not take it any longer, she lounged forward and reached out her hand and cried, one last time,  
  
  
  
"SHINJI!!!" Asuka let out, as she found herself in her pajamas, on her bed, in her room, in Misato's apartment, clasping her sheets with one hand, the other was stretched out.  
  
"Huh!?" Asuka gasped as she tried to evaluate just what the heck happened to her. She noticed she was breathing fast, really fast. She let go of her sheets and put down her hand.  
  
"What the hell was that?"  
  
"A dream..." A familiar voice said, as the door of her room opened, a familiar figure appeared, leaning by the doorway.  
  
"Huh?" Asuka asked.  
  
"You called?" The figure in the door said. Asuka focused in, she then found out that the man whom she had been screaming to, was now facing her, leaning by the doorway.  
  
"What is it?" The figure asked.  
  
"I called?" Asuka asked back.  
  
"Yes madam..." The figure sarcastically said.  
  
"Baka..." Asuka groaned, as she flung her fingers through her hair.  
  
"You called me just to tell me that?"  
  
"You must be really pissed."  
  
"Get out!" Asuka yelled, throwing her pillow at Shinji.  
  
"Yes madam..." Shinji said as he closed the door and left. Asuka was left in her room, alone. However, something stayed with her, from the dream.  
  
"I...feel..."  
  
"Warm..." Asuka said, as she placed her closed fist on her chest, feeling the warmth. She was, again out of words. She gulped, sighed, and then made up her mind.  
  
"I'll ask Misato, maybe it's just from piloting the Eva..."  
  
"Yeah..." Asuka said with resolve, as she changed her clothes, from pajamas to white shirt underneath a jumper.  
  
----Meanwhile----  
  
(Major Katsuragi is sure to know what is happening to me...) Rei thought, as she was passing by Asuka's room, when all of a sudden, the door slid open.  
  
BAM  
  
Rei bumped into Asuka and Asuka bumped into Rei, both fell to the floor on their bottoms as they placed their hands on their heads.  
  
"Awww..... Watch where you're going, Shinji-baka..."  
  
"WHAT???!!!!!" Asuka then screamed in shock.  
  
"W-W-W-W-Wondergirl?!!!" Asuka said, pointer a finger at Rei.  
  
"Yes, it is me, pilot Souryu, what do you want?" Rei coolly said.  
  
"W-w-w-w-w-w-why are you here?!!!!" Asuka yelled at Rei.  
  
"Pilot Ikari invited me to have breakfast... if you have any complaints, please give them to him." Rei answered.  
  
"Humph." Asuka said, totally forgetting about the warm feeling she had. She then started to go to the kitchen instead of the living room. Rei continued her way to the living room where an unsuspecting Misato Katsuragi was waiting...drinking...watching.  
  
----kitchen... a few minutes after the collision-----  
  
"I invited her to have breakfast, that's all...LET ME GO!!!!!" Shinji screamed in fear as Asuka strangled him. After a few seconds, Shinji regained his breath.  
  
"Man, you must REALLY be pissed off today, what happened yesterday?" Shinji retaliated, as he started running towards his fortress, his room.  
  
"Baka..." Asuka groaned as she took a look at what Shinji was cooking. She felt the heat from the pan, which gave her an idea of what was missing.  
  
"Oh. Shit, I forgot..." Asuka remembered. She then left the kitchen and headed for the living room...but Misato was already occupied by then.  
  
-------Living room-------  
  
Misato was seated on the couch, in front of the tube, finishing her fifth Yetis, when Rei arrived with a question. Misato was surprised to see that Rei, the girl with no problems, came to her with a problem.  
  
"What is it Rei?" Misato asked, as she straightened herself from her previous slouching position on the couch.  
  
"I have an question to ask of you, Major, if it is not too much to ask." Rei responded, placing her hand on her chest, feeling the phenomenon happening to her.  
  
"Yes, I see. Tell me about it, Rei." Misato eagerly said. She found this interesting.  
  
"Well, this morning, when you dispatched me to search for pilot Ikari, I found him sleeping in the meadow, as I said before. When he woke up, he asked me something..." Rei started when Misato cut in.  
  
"What was it?" Misato curiously asked.  
  
(This is gonna make a story at headquarters...) Misato thought to herself with a smile on her face.  
  
"That was not what I was going to ask you about, Major." Rei said.  
  
"Oh, I see." Misato groaned.  
  
"Let me continue...pilot Ikari asked me why I keep affixing my eyesight at my environment, why I keep in one place and...stare."  
  
"Yes, yes, then what?" Misato said, growing more anxious to hear what happened next. But little did the two women know that a certain redhead was listening in on them.  
  
"What is she talking about?" Asuka asked herself as she hid away from the two.  
  
"I didn't answer, instead, he told me something..." Rei added, coming to the good part. Misato was now almost on the edge of her seat.  
  
"Pilot Ikari told me I was..."  
  
"Was what?"  
  
"Beautiful." Rei finished.  
  
(Ohhhhhh.... Shit! This is gonna make news!!!!!) Misato said to herself in glee.  
  
"And.. what happened next?" Misato asked.  
  
"I... felt something that aroused within me, major." Rei answered.  
  
"What did you feel?"  
  
"I felt...warm, even though the morning was cold." Rei responded.  
  
(BINGGO!!!!!) Misato thought to herself.  
  
"Did you tell this to him?" Misato then asked.  
  
"Yes, I did major, in fact, he was the one who told me to ask guidance from you in accountance to this matter."  
  
"Hmmmm....." Misato said, trying to hide her true intention.  
  
(WHAT???!!!!!) Asuka said to herself in shock.  
  
"I know what that is..." Misato answered, almost sniggering.  
  
"What you have, is what we call..."  
  
"..." Rei sat in her place, patiently waiting for the answer.  
  
"A...hahahahahahahaha!!!!" Misato suddenly started, laughing so loud.  
  
"Hahahahahaha?" Rei asked.  
  
"No....haha...it's not that...haha...you know what, I'm not going to tell you..haha!!!!!!" Misato cruelly said, leaving the room, still laughing loudly.  
  
"You hafta find out for yourself, hahahahahahahahaaaaa!!!!!!" Misato finished, laughing loud like a witch.  
  
(I was declined?) Rei asked herself.  
  
"What was Major Katsuragi saying? I cannot understand." Rei asked herself, scratching her blue-haired head. Asuka just scratched her head, then the two ladies left the room as well and went to have breakfast, because Shinji was calling already.  
  
  
  
-----End of Chapter2----- 


	3. Breakfast At Shinji's

Chapter 3: Breakfast at Shinji's By: lynx  
  
------6:00 in the morning: dining table------  
  
Asuka took a seat beside Misato, Rei sat beside Shinji.  
  
"Bon Appetite!!!" They all said in chorus, all except for Rei, who just bowed her head in front of the table. After that, they all started to eat. Everyone had something on their minds...  
  
(Shit!!!!! This story is gonna make Kaji laugh his guts out!!!!)  
  
(I hope that hell does not break loose upon this table)  
  
(Shit... me and her... feel the same...)  
  
(The eggs are half-cooked)  
  
They all kept silent at the table... all the way...  
  
--------30 minutes later...--------  
  
Rei was the first one who stood up from the table, her bowl was clean.  
  
"Thank you, pilot Ikari..." Rei said in gratitude as she picked up her bag and made her way to the door. Shinji then stood up from his seat and went after Rei. Misato started giggling and left the table. Asuka scratched her head.  
  
"Rei!! Wait!" Shinji called the girl as he approached her.  
  
"What is it, Pilot Ikari?" The blue-head asked.  
  
"Can I... walk you home... If it's okay with you... I mean, it would be rather rude to just show up beside you and say nothing... you know what I mean... you see, so I did... otherwise... you see... umm soooo... I mean... can I?" The blushing Shinji asked Rei.  
  
"Okay..." Rei replied.  
  
"I wanted to ask you something..." Rei added.  
  
"Huh?... What is it?"  
  
"I did what you had advised me... I approached Major Katsuragi..." Rei said, as she looked at the road ahead of them.  
  
"What did Misato say?"  
  
"She said a funny sounding phrase that I had trouble to fathom."  
  
"What did it sound like?"  
  
"Hhhhhhhhh..."  
  
"Hhhhhhhahahahahahahahahahaha..." Rei answered with much less enthusiasm unlike the way Misato showed her.  
  
"Ohhhhh... I see." Shinji said, scratching his head.  
  
"What does that phrase mean?"  
  
"Oh! That... ummm... it's not actually a phrase, you see... look at it as something people say when they find something... funny." The boy answered.  
  
"Something that people say when they classify something as amusing..." Rei said.  
  
"Uhhhhhh... yeah. Something like that."  
  
"I see... So Major Katsuragi found my current disposition amusing."  
  
"Binggo."  
  
"Binggo?"  
  
"Uhhhhhh... let me rephrase that. Uhhhhh... yes."  
  
"What does this 'Binggo' mean?"  
  
"Oh! That... "  
  
(Man is this girl full of it!)  
  
"From what I see... Rei... You have trouble understanding informal conversations."  
  
"I do?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"You always talk in a 'formal' manner." Shinji said, using his fingers to emphasize the word.  
  
"What are you doing with your fingers?"  
  
"Uhhhhh..."  
  
(Sheeesh)  
  
"Ummmm... You know..."  
  
"I don't"  
  
(Grrrrrrrr....)  
  
"Let's continue this some other time."  
  
"Okay." Thus, this long and a bit irritating chitchat between the two was cut-off. The two then split ways, Shinji went back and Rei went back to her apartment.  
  
----------Misato's Apartment-------  
  
"What the hell was that!!!!!?????" Shinji angrily asked Misato while she was watching TV.  
  
"What was what?" Misato asked, playing dumb.  
  
"Don't play dumb with me!" Shinji said.  
  
"Play what?" Misato asked again, trying to keep up.  
  
"Grrrrr... UHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" Shinji groaned in anger as he left the room and headed towards his room. A few minutes after Shinji left the room, Misato took a sip out of the can of beer she was drinking, then Asuka came into the room.  
  
"Can we talk?"  
  
"About what?"  
  
"About what you said to Rei."  
  
(Huh?????????)  
  
"About what?"  
  
"Don't play dumb with me!"  
  
"Play what?"  
  
"Grrrrr... UHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" Asuka had suffered the same fate as Shinji, they both fell into the evil hands of Misato. A few minutes after Asuka left the room, Misato, who was now content with what was happening, Gave out a contented sigh, breathed in, held it there for a few seconds, then let it all loose.  
  
"I love pissing people off!!!! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA" Misato laughed in glee, careless of what their neighbors would think, even more careless of what Shinji and Asuka would think.  
  
"BWAHAHAHAHA!!! GYAHAHAHAHAH!!!! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!" She kept on. A few minutes after she started laughing, Shinji and Asuka came down and looked at the crazy woman on the couch.  
  
"The beer has gotten into her brain..." Shinji said, just standing in front of the insanity in front of him.  
  
"I say it was aliens..." Asuka said, watching the madness.  
  
"Whatever it was, it hit her hard... really hard." Shinji concluded before going back to his room. It took a while before the insane laughing ceased. After that, Misato then slouched back on the couch and went back to drinking.  
  
"She's gone mad." Shinji said to himself as he listened to his SDAT.  
  
"Crazy bitch..." Asuka said, lying down on her bed. Therefore, the apartment was silent again.  
  
---------8:15, Rei's apartment------  
  
  
  
(Is my disposition... amusing?) Rei thought to herself, as she lay on her bed, which was in a messy apartment room.  
  
(Why would someone use the name of a non-existent dog to express agreement?)  
  
(Why were his cheeks red?)  
  
(Why am I asking myself these difficult questions?)  
  
(What is this I am feeling?)  
  
(More importantly... What was pilot Ikari doing with his fingers that time?) Rei kept on, staring at the ceiling. Rei started thinking about what Shinji told her a while ago, to her, it was as if she was told she was incomplete. This thought kept her awake all night, just the thought of lacking something made her very worried. However, being the smart blue-head girl in the series, she found a way.  
  
"I shall ask guidance from pilot Ikari. I am positive he can help me." She said, as she closed her eyes and tried to sleep (Even though it was already late in the morning).  
  
  
  
-------1:00 p.m., Misato's apartment------  
  
Asuka lay on her bed, recalling her dream. She could not figure out the 'thing' she had. A few minutes later, she decided to go back to the insane woman.  
  
-------1:06 p.m.----  
  
"Can we talk?" Asuka asked the purple-haired woman.  
  
"What is it?" Misato asked back, looking more normal. Misato then offered Asuka a seat beside her, which she silently took.  
  
"I had a dream." She said.  
  
"Go on..." Misato said, finding difficulty to suppress the excitement within her.  
  
"It was about..."  
  
"Shinji?"  
  
"What!!!!??? H-h-h-h-h-how did you know?" The younger girl said in shock.  
  
"You weren't yourself at breakfast, you didn't even mock the guy."  
  
"Oh, I see."  
  
"So, what happened to the dream?"  
  
"Well...Shinji asked me out."  
  
"Did you say yes?"  
  
"I found myself blabbering strange things to myself, I felt a strange, hot sensation within me. It was the first time I felt it, it's hard to explain it."  
  
"But did you say yes?"  
  
"Everything changed before I was able to answer, I found myself calling out his name, shouting out loud. I felt incredible sadness as I saw his figure about to disappear into the midst of the darkness I was in."  
  
"My chest ached so hard, I couldn't breathe. Before the dream ended, a hot feeling shot through me."  
  
"So then, what happened?"  
  
"I reached out my arm to grab him and screamed out one last time. Then I noticed I was awake. A few moments later, he shows up in front of me, he said I called for him. But I sent him away."  
  
"Is that it?"  
  
"No. It's just that, I still feel the heat of what I experienced in the dream."  
  
"Just like..."  
  
"Rei." Asuka finished, beating Misato to the name.  
  
"So you heard..."  
  
"But, just like what happened to Rei, I'm going to have to deny you of any useful information."  
  
"That's unfair."  
  
"But I am unfair, sweatie. You'll have to figure out that by yourself." Misato said, putting the discussion to an end. Asuka, who was very much aggravated, left Misato and went to Shinji's room.  
  
-------1:40 p.m., Shinji's room----  
  
Shinji was oblivious to the real world as he lay on his bed, thinking in his parallel universe, listening to music, when Asuka entered.  
  
"You could at least knock, madam." Shinji said, noticing the other living organism in his quarters.  
  
"Baka..." Asuka lightly said.  
  
"What was that?" Shinji said, turning over to look at her as she left the room, slowly closing the door to his room.  
  
"What was that all about?" He asked himself, scratching his head. Asuka leaned on the wall that enclosed Shinji's room, trying to disregard what she was feeling, with no avail, it was just too strong to put aside.  
  
"Time to go." Shinji said, after changing from his uniform to a white shirt and denim jeans. As he left his room, he was thinking about Rei, about what he said to her. He did not even notice the troubled redhead standing just outside his room.  
  
------2:00 p.m., living room------  
  
"I'm going back to the meadow." Shinji told Misato, who seemed to pay no attention to him.  
  
"Oh. Sure. sure, go on, have a good time at school." She said, proving her ignorance. After that, Shinji left the house and started his way to the meadow. A few minutes after that, Asuka came down, wearing red fitted shirt and a short (very short) skirt and told Misato she was going out, she was met with the same reply. After the go signal, Asuka left the apartment in a hurry and started out on her short trip.  
  
------2:15 p.m., meadow-----  
  
Shinji was a bit tired from his trip, but it was worth it. He could feel the wind playfully glide through his hair as he watched the clear afternoon sky show its splendor upon him. This was Shinji's paradise, his refuge from his distress, his stronghold. He then started to look for the place where he fell asleep, but to his surprise, he found a familiar-looking girl, lying on the same spot where he had slept.  
  
  
  
  
  
--------End of Chapter 3-------- 


	4. At The Meadow Once More

Chapter 4: At the Meadow Once More By: lynx  
  
"Rei!" Shinji called out in surprise, as he hastened his pace towards the sleeping figure who once woke him from a sleep that could never had been better if she had not woken him up. Rei was wearing a black shirt and denim jeans. As soon as he saw her face, he sat besides her, watching over her as she slept. Keeping steady vigil over her figure at rest. A few minutes later, Rei rolled over in her sleep, bringing her nearer to Shinji, who found himself blushing because her face was now in front of his. He could kiss her so easily, but why would he do that? He did not even have feelings for her, but something was trying to prove otherwise. His stomach. It was swarming with butterflies; he felt the warmth of her breath splash onto his face, sending impulses all over his body. Something was taking over him. He streched out his hand slowly, he caressed her face, his trembling hands then calmed down when his fingers touched her face. His possessor controlled him well. Then he slowly ran them through her beautiful blue hair. In that short span of time, he felt that Rei belonged to him, she was there, and he was with her, alone. Just then, Rei's hand, suddenly went into motion and came to her face, where Shinji's hand lay, the two hands met, then Rei's hand gave Shinji's a light squeeze, keeping it on her face. Giant waves crashed into each other as Shinji felt the coldness of her hand, it was a perfect match, her warm breath comes upon his face while her cold hand soothed the tension within Shinji. By that time, all of his hormones were in frenzy but her silent, innocent, ever-so beautiful face calmed the raging waters of Shinji's body, and maybe his heart as well. It was all too much to ask for in one day, indeed. A few minutes more, Rei then woke up, finding her hand clasping the hand of a man she did not yet recognize. However, the hand was so warm, the warmth already within her increased tenfold. The heat of this careful hand passed through her face, it went through her cold hands and all through her body. All this was happening to her as she gazed at the eyes of who was making her feel that way.  
  
"P-p-p-p-p-pilot Ikari!!" Rei gasped, as she suddenly let go of his hand.  
  
"Oh! Rei! I-I-I-I-ah-I'm really sorry for that! Ummmmm..."  
  
"No, It is okay, pilot Ikari."  
  
"Oh. I see. Well then, I guess I had better get going now haha!" Shinji said as he stood up. Rei suddenly felt an ache in her chest, it hurt so much she wanted to scream, it grew increasingly painful as Shinji's steps away from her went on. She reached out her hand, saying the name she was mumbling in her sleep.  
  
"Shinji!"  
  
"Huh?" The boy said as he turned around to the girl who had called out his first name for the first time.  
  
"Wait. Stay." Rei said, putting down her hand, longing for the feeling once more. Shinji acknowledged, he went back and sat down beside her.  
  
"Sorry about that. It's because you're just so..."  
  
"Beautiful."  
  
"That is the second time you said that, thank you."  
  
"It's nothing." Shinji replied, staring at the red windows to her soul. Then the two of them kept silent, just looking at each other, with a longing for the other one.  
  
(Should I ask him?)  
  
"Pilot Ikari."  
  
"What is it, Rei?"  
  
"It is about what you told me as you accompanied me to my domicile."  
  
"What about it?"  
  
"What is this informal conversation you speak of?"  
  
"That?"  
  
"Ummmm... Binggo. Yes, binggo." Rei replied, trying hard.  
  
"Ohhh... that."  
  
"I was hoping you could help me to understand this."  
  
"Sure. What do you want to know?"  
  
"Everything about it."  
  
"Wha?"  
  
"Yes. Binggo."  
  
"Well... you have a long way to go."  
  
"I know. I want to suggest that we have a tutorial session about this."  
  
"Session?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"After school hours."  
  
"Where?"  
  
"It is up to you."  
  
"Is it okay if I come to your apartment everyday?"  
  
"That is alright."  
  
"It's a deal."  
  
"A deal?"  
  
"I'll tell you tomorrow." Shinji said, leaving her.  
  
"But tomorrow is a Sunday." Rei said.  
  
"I know!" Shinji shouted from afar. Rei decided not to leave the meadow just yet. She stayed there, trying to go back to sleep.  
  
"I find this place, amusing."  
  
"Hhahahahahaha..." Rei said, getting a head start on her lessons.  
  
--------A few more minutes later--------  
  
"Wondergirl!" Asuka said in shock as she stealthily approached the sleeping doll, who happened to be awake.  
  
"Pilot Sorhyu." Rei said as she stood up to look at the girl standing beside her.  
  
"Why are you here?" Rei asked.  
  
"I was... looking for someone."  
  
"I see." Rei replied, shifting her sight to the sky.  
  
"Was..."  
  
"Shinji here?"  
  
"A while ago." Rei answered.  
  
"Where did he go?"  
  
"That is beyond my knowledge. I am sorry."  
  
"Oh." Asuka said, as she turned around to go back.  
  
"I knew you were hiding while I was talking with major Katsuragi."  
  
"Huh?" Asuka said in shock.  
  
"You and I."  
  
"What is it?" Rei asked.  
  
"I think..."  
  
"We have the same problems. I think." Asuka answered. Rei was a bit surprised at this.  
  
"Towards pilot Ikari?"  
  
"I guess so."  
  
"Do you have an idea of what it is?"  
  
"I think I do." Asuka said as she turned back and sat beside Rei, who was now sitting as well. The two of them were silent for a few minutes, until Rei left.  
  
"I must be going now, thank you for your time." Rei said as she left the meadow.  
  
"Don't mention it." Asuka said, lying down on the grass.  
  
--------3:15 p.m.-------  
  
Asuka was still at the meadow, wide-awake, struggling with her thoughts.  
  
(This means...)  
  
"I like him." She said. Just then, Shinji came back, expecting his spot to be vacant once more.  
  
"Asuka!" Shinji said, finding the foxy girl lying on his spot.  
  
"You look a bit... foxy today." Shinji said.  
  
"Pervert." Asuka said.  
  
"How did you find my spot?" Shinji asked.  
  
"I didn't, it found me."  
  
"Can I sit?"  
  
"It's not my meadow, why ask?"  
  
"Never mind." Shinji said as he took a seat beside her.  
  
"Can I tell you something?"  
  
"It must sound very important. You didn't assault me the whole day."  
  
"Shut up."  
  
"Okay, I'm lisenin'" Shinji eagerly answered.  
  
"It's about this morning."  
  
"When you called?"  
  
"Before."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Just shut up and let me talk."  
  
"I had a dream."  
  
"A dream." Shinji repeated, pissing off the red-head. Making her slap him on the face.  
  
"I told you to shut up."  
  
"Alright, back to me."  
  
"The dream was mainly, about me."  
  
"And you were in it."  
  
"And you..."  
  
(I what????)  
  
(What's the matter, chicken? Afraid he'll laugh at you?)  
  
(Come on! Say something woman!!!!!!!)  
  
(Ahhhhhhhhhh!)  
  
"Oh just forget it!" Asuka shouted as she quickly stood up, and ran away. Shinji, totally oblivious, smelled his armpit and was deeply offended.  
  
"I PUT ON DEODORANT! BITCH!" Shinji screamed.  
  
"I'S NOT THAT! ASSHOLE!" Asuka screamed back, as she disappeared into the afternoon.  
  
"What was that all about?" Shinji asked himself.  
  
  
  
--------The insane woman's apartment------  
  
Misato was still in front of the tube when she heard a knocking at the door.  
  
"Who is it?" Misato shouted.  
  
"It is pilot Ayanami." A voice answered.  
  
"Oh, it's open, get your ass in here." Misato called out. Rei, clueless, replied.  
  
"I do not have a donkey, major." Rei said.  
  
"Just come inside." Misato said, showing a disappointed look at Rei.  
  
"Is there something wrong?" Rei asked.  
  
"No, it's nothing. What brings you here?" Misato asked, gesturing the girl to sit down beside her.  
  
"I wanted to ask you something once more."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Binggo."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I said binggo. Isn't that what people say when they express agreement?"  
  
"Uhhh, yes it does. Who told you that?"  
  
"Pilot Ikari told me."  
  
"He did..."  
  
"What else did he tell you?"  
  
"He said I had difficulty at understanding informal conversations."  
  
"I can see that."  
  
"He also did something with his fingers, it was really strange."  
  
"Ummm, let's not ponder upon that, shall we, Rei?"  
  
"What were you going to ask me?"  
  
"Pilot Ikari came upon me sleeping on the meadow where I found him last night."  
  
"Yes, go on."  
  
"While I was sleeping, he placed his hand on my face, which woke me up."  
  
"After that?"  
  
"But although I was taken by surprise, his hand did something to me."  
  
"WHAT???????? What did it do to you??????"  
  
"It sent, something through my face and through my whole body." Rei answered. Misato was once again at the edge of her seat.  
  
"What did it send?"  
  
"His hand was warm, it made my whole body warm."  
  
"I held his hand as it touched my face."  
  
(This is deep shit)  
  
"However, as soon as I found out he was the one who was doing all this to me, I quickly threw his hand back."  
  
"Were you taken in by surprise?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Then the two of us found ourselves in an awkward disposition, then pilot Ikari informed me that he was leaving the meadow."  
  
"He did..."  
  
"But as he started walking away from me..."  
  
"My chest..."  
  
"It started to ache."  
  
(This really deep shit)  
  
"It continued to proceed aching, it felt like it was..."  
  
"Losing something."  
  
"I quickly understood that the warmth I felt a while ago was what I was aching for."  
  
"It kept aching until I could take no longer."  
  
"What did you do?"  
  
"I called out to him."  
  
"You called out?"  
  
"Shinji."  
  
"WHAT!!!?????"  
  
(The first name thingy!!!!!)  
  
"It was the first time I called pilot Ikari by that. But it felt like that was the most efficient way to call his attention."  
  
"Shinji, huh?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Major, I really need your help on this matter."  
  
"You felt like you were losing something as you saw him move farther and farther from you."  
  
"Binggo."  
  
"I thought you were smart, Rei."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"You disappoint me, Ayanami."  
  
"What is it I have done wrong, major?"  
  
"I see it clearly, and maybe even Asuka can spell it out."  
  
"Spell out what?"  
  
"Just calculate what's happening. That's what you're good at."  
  
"Calculate..."  
  
"That's all I have to say." Misato said, finishing the conversation. She stood up from her seat and headed towards the kitchen, leaving Rei alone with her thoughts and what she had told her.  
  
"I must calculate." Rei said to herself, looking at her hand. It was still warm from what happened. After a while, she stood up and went to the kitchen.  
  
--------Kitchen-------  
  
  
  
"I shall be leaving now, major. Thank you for your time."  
  
"Don't mention it."  
  
"Thank you." Rei finished as she left the kitchen.  
  
  
  
-------The way Home------  
  
  
  
"My chest started to ache the moment pilot Ikari started to walk away from my position. My aching had something to do with pilot Ikari's presence and absence." Rei said as she went on her way to her apartment.  
  
"What is it that links me and pilot Ikari's presence?" She added, placing her warm hand on her chest. Still troubled, Rei went on her way.  
  
  
  
-------The Redhead-----  
  
  
  
"I like the guy. I don't believe it." Asuka said to herself.  
  
"And I even embarrassed myself in front of him." She added, hitting herself on the head.  
  
"Does he know?"  
  
(Maybe)  
  
"If he ever did know, will he feel the same way too?"  
  
(No one knows)  
  
"How will I know?"  
  
(Why don't you tell him)  
  
"What am I, an idiot?"  
  
(Yep)  
  
"Grrrrr..." Asuka said to herself. She sighed as she kicked the pebbles on the sidewalk while she went home.  
  
  
  
---------End of Chapter 4-------- 


	5. Recollection

Chapter 5  
  
Recollection  
  
  
  
Rei was pondering on what Misato told her as she stared at the ceiling, thinking about her words, and the man they were talking about. Thoughts were swirling like mad inside her sub-conscientiousness. Her logic was being pitted against her feelings. A battle ensued as she tried to figure out just what the hell was happening to her.  
  
"My unpleasant disposition was caused by pilot Ikari's absence." She told herself.  
  
"Which justifies the fact that I shall feel the reverse in his presence." She added.  
  
"If that is so, I have a certain attraction towards pilot Ikari."  
  
"And if this takes place, I come to the point wherein I am obliged to decide on what classification of attraction do I have for him."  
  
"What kind of attraction?" Rei finally asked herself, as she lay on her bed. She was beginning to get anxious. Anxious to know what he feels for him. She got up, changed, walked, and thought. Her excitement escalated every step she made in search for Shinji.  
  
---------Asuka---------  
  
  
  
"Why should I open up to him?"  
  
(Because you like him.)  
  
"Urgh." She groaned to herself in defeat.  
  
"Will he fell the same freakin' way I feel?"  
  
(No one can say.)  
  
"You are so impossible!"  
  
(Don't you know that already?)  
  
"If I tried, how would he react?"  
  
(I dunno, maybe you should give it a try, you owe it to yourself to give it a freakin' try.)  
  
"For once, I agree with myself." She finished. As she closed her conversation with herself. Now she started to feel anxious as well. Anxious to test the hypothesis she had concocted. So she got up, got dressed and started walking. Feelings for Shinji flared up one-by-one as things started to unfold before her, she liked him, and she doesn't know if he likes her.  
  
  
  
--------Misato-------  
  
"That is one lucky son-of-a-bitch! Imagine having two women racing towards him!" Misato said in shock, as he sipped out of her can.  
  
"What does this guy have?"  
  
"I don't see anything unique about that guy."  
  
"Sheesh..." She told herself, trying to give answers to her questions.  
  
"Rei has a thing for him 'cause he called her beautiful."  
  
"Asuka, on the other corner, dreamt of the guy."  
  
"Who wins the guy?"  
  
"Who weeps in the corner?"  
  
...  
  
...  
  
...  
  
...  
  
"SHIT! I can't wait to see what happens next!"  
  
"It's just like one of those romantic movies wherein two men fight over the same girl, only, everything is reversed."  
  
"Wait a minute..."  
  
"Then that means..."  
  
"Rei and Asuka are...?????"  
  
"And Shinji IS???????"  
  
...  
  
...  
  
...  
  
"Yuck..."  
  
  
  
-----------Shinji--------  
  
Shinji was still at the meadow, lying on the grass, staring at the sky. I t seemed as if he was thinking about someone.  
  
"Rei." He said, breathing in the afternoon air, looking at the red stains that gave the sun company as it resided into the ground.  
  
It had been a few hours since he was able to do this again, it felt good to repeat something that felt good. But this time it was different, he was still thinking of the same girl, but the feeling he had for her was totally different from the feeling he was experiencing now. It was stronger, deeper, and more serious...  
  
"What is this?"  
  
"Why is it that I feel something stronger than before?" He asked himself as he scratched his head.  
  
"She's just so..."  
  
"Beautiful?"  
  
"What???!" Shinji said in surprise as he jerked himself up to see who said that.  
  
"M-M-Misato!" Shinji said, blushing heavily.  
  
"I see it all clearly now..." Misato said, as she started to look at the sky as well.  
  
"How did you know?" Shinji asked the purple-haired woman who stood next to him.  
  
"Rei told me about it..." She proudly replied.  
  
"I see..."  
  
"I feel, embarrassed." Shinji said, trying to hide the blushes he had on his face.  
  
"How cute..."  
  
"What!!!!????" Shinji asked in rage.  
  
"Puppy love!!!!!!"  
  
"FUCK YOU!!!!!!!!" Shinji screamed, startling a number of birds out of the nearby tree.  
  
"Sheesh, you don't have to be so defensive about it." Misato said in defense.  
  
"Does Ayanami know about this?"  
  
"She doesn't, but she knows something you don't." Misato answered.  
  
"She does?" Shinji curiously asked.  
  
"And I bet you'll be shocked when you find out what the hell it is. Haha!"  
  
"I will?"  
  
"Quit acting stupid you dolt."  
  
"What!?"  
  
"Just try to figure it out!"  
  
"You mean ask her what it is?"  
  
"Binggo."  
  
"Sounds familiar."  
  
"Just go and find her."  
  
"Alright! I'm goin' I'm goin'!" Shinji said, getting up to leave the meadow on search of a woman who was also in search of him at the same time.  
  
  
  
------------The Amazing Race----------  
  
  
  
"Pilot Ikari could be at the meadow, since he told me he would be staying there today." Rei said, starting her part as she left her apartment. Finally, the thought of competition aroused within her.  
  
"Pilot Sorhyu stated she feels the same as I do." She said, a small amount of anger was injected to her while she looked for the man whom she wants to be with. Moreover, at the same time, struggling to keep ahead of the woman she had just considered as her rival.  
  
"He should be at the meadow..." Asuka told herself as she got her first clue as she left the apartment. Jealousy swelled up with every step she made. Her heart paced faster every time she thought about Rei being with the man she wanted.  
  
The race to find Shinji was on; two women in search of the one- million-dollar guy who stole their hearts. Pacing their footsteps as they thought about the goal they were after, what a lucky guy...  
  
  
  
----------And The Winner Is....--------  
  
  
  
"Pilot Ikari has left." Rei said as she came upon a sleeping Misato. She then left after calculating how long it would take her to wake up. A half feeling of disappointment and comfort overcame the blue-head. Shinji was not where she expected to be, but she was relieved to know that her opponent wasn't going to find him here either.  
  
"He's not here." Asuka groaned as she came upon a snoring whore. She left after thinking about how hard it would take to wake her up. The same feeling came into Asuka.  
  
------------Nobody!!!!!!!!!!-----------  
  
"She's not in her apartment." Shinji said as he got back to Misato's apartment, entering his room. He felt incomplete and deprived at that time.  
  
"What does she know?" He asked, tabulating what she could figure out that would surprise him. It seemed so difficult, but he was anxious as well. He kept at it all day, making guesses and then thinking it over. It looked like if it was a war tactician plotting out his plan to bring down his upcoming enemy. Shinji was getting anxious as well, thinking about her. By now, it would be so obvious to see who Misato voted for.  
  
  
  
-------------After hours of useless thinking...-----------  
  
  
  
"Ah heck! Just ask her about it when we meet." Shinji said, putting a close to this matter. He then lied down on his bed and transported himself to his world once again. However, the question still penetrated through the barricades of his closed mind. He can't wait, he must have it...  
  
"AAAAAAHHHHH!" He suddenly screamed, jumping out of his trance. In about less than a half-second, he left the apartment. He needed to know, he wanted to know. Moreover, he was going to do what ever it takes to do it.  
  
"Her apartment." He said, heading straight back to Rei's place. His excitement gave him a boost in his speed. His adrenalin forced him to the edge as his heart tried to hold in his feelings and paces.  
  
  
  
--------------Sleeping Beauty-----------  
  
Rei lay asleep on her bed, exhausted from looking for the man who was now looking for her. It all seemed as a huge goose-hunt. Her feelings were being suppressed while she closed her eyes, but it was too hard. She couldn't wait another moment, she needed to know, and she wanted to know. Anger and sadness seeped into her as he held her hand to her somewhat 'empty' chest.  
  
"Where is he?" She asked herself, using something aside 'pilot Ikari' to address him for the second time. She was learning now. But she didn't know, she didn't care. What she was worried about was him. A different kind of hot feeling shot through her, it was a bit painful now; but she didn't care. She got up, walked out her door and started looking for him again. Her mind raced to think of places he could have gone to.  
  
"I shall check major Katsuragi's apartment." She said with resolve, making her way to where Shinji had been. Thoughts of Shinji played themselves in her mind. She needed him, she wanted him. That was all she wanted now. She can't understand why, she just had to.  
  
-----------Prince Phillip------------  
  
  
  
"If she's not there..." Shinji said, starting to imagine what he would do if he couldn't find her. His curiousness had taken a dramatic transformation into a longing. A longing for her.  
  
"I must know.." He said to himself hungrily as he shifted from walking to sprinting in impatience. His forest of thorns had suddenly materialized in his path to his destination.  
  
"Must make it.." He weakly muttered as he savagely ran to Rei's place. Quickly and surely, he got there. He ran up those familiar steps like someone who had just seen his first set of stairs. He ran like an ape-man as he stomped his feet towards her door. By the moment he was there, he began to carefully place handpicked words in a specified order in his mind. His shaking hand turned to a fist as he grasped the knob and went in. Excitement filled him the moment he stepped his foot in the apartment. Then, despair drowned him as he found out he had missed her.  
  
"AAARGH!" He screamed as his anger dried him. The drought of his disappointment spread out through him like a human-degrading plague. Where is she? What does she know? How will he get to her? If I did find her, would she tell him?  
  
"MISATO YOU BITCH!!!! WHAT HVE YOU DONE?????!!!!!!!" Shinji screamed once more, now trying to pacify himself. He ran out of her apartment and ran towards the one place he wanted to be...  
  
  
  
------------Malefecent---------  
  
  
  
"I'd better get going now." Misato said as she got up to go home. A feeling of completion entered her. She smiled, ran her fingers through her weird- colored hair, scratched her butt, and went home. She felt like an evil witch who had just placed a curse on someone. A few moments later, the wind had ceased on peeping at the woman who had been sleeping in the meadow. However, it started again as another woman had arrived...  
  
  
  
-----------Asuka----------  
  
  
  
"Must be at the meadow." Asuka said as she reached the said location. Unfortunately, she was early. Moreover, think like that she did as she decided to wait for him. She sat down on the grass and thought of him as she prepared what to say to him when they meet. Her feelings rumbled with each other as she tested her patience. It was too much of a struggle to handle. Compared to having two bulls fight ferociously over nothing inside a coliseum made out of paper. Her emotions filling her every inch, while her hesitation disrupted the course of the venom in her body as it tried to place word after word of careful deliberation. It was like having a war in you. You want him, but you don't.  
  
(Are you sure, you want this?) Asuka asked Asuka.  
  
"What? Are you telling me this is a bad idea???" Asuka shouted.  
  
(No)  
  
"Then what!!!?????" She screamed.  
  
(NOTHING!!!!) Her sub-conscious screamed back. Their argument raged on for a while, but it ceased. Both of them were exhausted from all that debating. Tired as she was, Asuka fell asleep on the grass. With her as the victor, her sub-conscious conceded and silenced herself.  
  
  
  
  
  
----------End of chapter 5----------- 


	6. End Of The Formality

Chapter 6  
  
  
  
End Of The Formality  
  
  
  
  
  
His paces emitted echoes as he stomped his feet as fast as he could as he rushed to the meadow. That one tidbit of information had driven him crazy. His head was in a mess, and his heart was in a jiffy.  
  
"Getting there...not leaving until midnight." He said, looking at the red sun in it's hypnotizing glare. Shinji heaved his way to his stronghold with his eyes closed in the blinding red rays pointed towards him, as if the sun was trying to slow him down aside from his thoughts. Eventually, he got there. His lungs breathed out in exhaustion as he scanned the place where he slept. The tree was there, with it's leaves rustling with the wind that was colored red by the sunset. He wanted to sleep and not wake up for a while. The serenity took him in so much that he didn't notice the sleeping woman on his spot. Ignore her he did, for he was busy staring at what reminded him of what he was longing for at that moment. The sun. It affected the whole area as a spoiled apple would spoil a whole basket of them.  
  
The place was red (Red-Orange to be a bit specific).  
  
The sun was red.  
  
Her eyes were red as well.  
  
He thought of Rei that very moment and asked himself something.  
  
"What is driving me this way?" The man's voice muttered, scratching his head and placing the other in his pocket.  
  
"Shall I die if I do not know what is this she knows that I do not?" He said, feeling a little nostalgic and sentimental. The rege was gone and his soul found peace.  
  
"I feel... as if I do not want..."  
  
"To know what she hides." He said, starting to get the big picture.  
  
"It seems that I..."  
  
...  
  
"Am beginning to sound like her."  
  
A smile formed on the man's face as he continued looking at her red eyes.  
  
"It seems that I want to tell her that which I hide from her..." He said with resolve. He closed his eyes for a while as he breathed in the red air.  
  
This is it.  
  
"That which I want to tell her, is that I am..."  
  
"Asuka!" Shinji said in suprise as he almost stumbled upon who was waiting for him.  
  
"Shinji!" The woman said, suddenly jerking up to meet his eyes.  
  
The sun was red.  
  
The place was red.  
  
Her hair was red as well.  
  
"What is it?" The man asked the woman. Fixing his eyes upon her hair.  
  
"I..."  
  
"Well?"  
  
The words she had carefully memorized had suddenly vanished within her mind. He was looking at her, as she fidgeted infront of him, trying to remember something.  
  
(Oh sheeesh!?! Are you gonna faint on this guy?)  
  
"I wanted to tell you that..."  
  
(Come on! The suspense is killing me!)  
  
"I love..."  
  
(That's it! Go girl!)  
  
"I love your spot here."  
  
(YOU IDIOT!! WHAT ARE YOU SAYING!?!)  
  
"Oh, you do?"  
  
"Yup. And I'm out of here." The woman said with a blush on her face, as she started walking away from the man she loved. Shinji watched her figure disappear in the red sky, along with her red hair.  
  
"Her hair..." He said to himself, brushing his fingers through his own.  
  
"I just noticed it was red, funny." He concluded, as he lay down to rest and dream.  
  
----------Rei----------  
  
Her light steps tapped upon the pavement while she thought of how to open up to Shinji.  
  
"It would seem a bit embarrassing to tell him this." The woman said, feeling a newfound emotion. Shinji had imparted so much unto her, she just didn't notice it.  
  
He showed her own beauty unto her.  
  
He taught her the word 'binggo'.  
  
He made her blush.  
  
He gave her feelings.  
  
He made her love him.  
  
And so she did...  
  
"How shall I tell him I feel something towards him?" She asked herself. Sentence after sentence she mentally trashed in an effort to come up with something that would sound unlike her. All that just for a question. She found herself struggling with what she used to handle so well. Her vocabulary. A loss at words was rare with her. All this started to confuse her until she asked herself something.  
  
"Why do I do this?"  
  
"Is it not that I wish only to ask him something." Rei's voice said. She said it again, and tried to listen to herself. It didn't sound right.  
  
"I do not want to ask...?" It was getting closer.  
  
"I wish to see him...?" Warmer.  
  
"Tell him.." Getting better.  
  
"Tell him what I feel for him?"  
  
Binggo.  
  
"Binggo."  
  
With high reslove, she changed her direction, and looked at the sky, what was once red was not turning violet with the stars coming out to play. The stars that were there that fateful night.  
  
It was night. SheI woke him up.  
  
She clasped his hand.  
  
The stars saw it...  
  
The stars saw it as he told her she was beautiful.  
  
She remebered as she stared at the transformation of day into night.  
  
"That is what I stare at." She said.  
  
"And that is why I'm.."  
  
"Beautiful." She concluded, as she changed her destination once again and started going to a place where she could witness night, and where she could stare...  
  
Not at the sky.  
  
Not at the tree.  
  
At his eyes.  
  
For it makes her beautiful.  
  
And for she loves him.  
  
She walked slowly and kept silent, for she wished the noise of her love would not disturb the silent beauty of the evening.  
  
-------------Meadow------------  
  
"I love her..." He happily muttered in his sweet dreams. So did he say again in the world he was lying upon. He rolled on the grass and smiled again in his love.  
  
"To hell with what she knows."  
  
"I love her." He told himself, as he breathed in his slumber.  
  
The sky was now black, with small eyes on it called stars. The weak breeze ruffled through the leaves of the tree which he was sleeping underneath. The eyes blinked in the sky as they watched the one who made them blink one night. The eyes kept steady watch upon him as he slept and waited. They silently stared at his silent figure, on the multitude of small, harmless blades was sleeping... As they watched, they saw something. It was a pair of something round...  
  
And red.  
  
The two red floating obs suddenly came out of the shadows and showed it's true form. And approached the dreamer. Her steps were weak and soundless, so was her breathing. She came closer as the eyes stopped blinking. She smiled as she looked at what she found, and placed her hand upon her chest. The warmth was different, for it had already had been fathomed. She then held his hand. Her hand wasn't cold anymore, it was calm and warm. So was his hand, which she clasped lightly in her loving grasp. Then the night breeze flew through again and splashed upon the couple. Her hair followed the lead of the wind, until it passed by and left the place silent.  
  
He then spoke at her, to was which her slight suprise,  
  
"You are here."  
  
"Binggo." She said.  
  
"Rei..." He said, sitting up to meet her red gaze. He held her hand as it had happened in his slumberland. He squeezed it lightly as he spoke what his heart had planned to tell his woman in his dreams  
  
"For now, the time is not right for an informality." He said, smiling at her. Her puzzled look made the eyes in the heavens stay still the whole time. "Why is that?" She asked.  
  
"That is used when one wishes to communicate in a not-so-serious tone."  
  
"Is this serious?"  
  
"That, and something else.."  
  
"What is that?" She asked, squeezing the hand in her hands.  
  
"This.."  
  
His hands went in motion and freed itself from her grasp and went to her soft face. He held her cheeks and and stared at her eyes. And he said to himself...  
  
I love her, formally.  
  
It was then that he moved towards her, and pressed his lips upon hers, in a locked, passionate and formal kiss. Her eyes closed at the moment and enjoyed his sweetness upon her lips. Their lock was shared as their eyes were closed and the eyes in the heavens remained open in the middle of the moment. He broke the kiss and wiped his thumb upon her lips and held her hand once again, and told her.  
  
"I feel for you the way I feel for the first and last thing I hold dear to my herat on this planet."  
  
"I love you." The man told his woman, smiling at her.  
  
"I love you." She said in return, as she returned the kiss. Her hands pinned his upon the ground as her face came upon his in the second lock in which the eyes in heavens watched. The warmth in her, released unto him in her breath.  
  
"My questione, you haven't answered." He said. Breaking the kiss.  
  
"What question?"  
  
"Why do you stare?"  
  
"I stare..." She said, smiling under a light blush from a memory she saw.  
  
"Because it makes me look beautiful." She said, as she playfully pushed him back down to the grass. Shinji lay down and looked at her as she looked at him. She lay herself upon the grass as well and snuggled herself to her man.  
  
They shared one last kiss.  
  
Then they fell asleep.  
  
Under the careful watch of the eyes who stopped blinking in the heavens.  
  
End 


End file.
